Justice for All

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs if she will make a statement on progress towards meeting the target set out in the Justice for All White Paper 2002 to establish a secure portal to enable victims to track their cases online by 31 December 2005; when she expects such a portal to be available in every criminal justice area; and what assessment she has made of the reasons for the delay in meeting the target.

Charles Clarke: I have been asked to reply.
	Following the concerns expressed by organisations representing victims and witnesses, and after victims and witnesses individually expressed a preference for dealing with trained intermediaries, it was considered inappropriate to deliver a secure internet service to enable victims to track their own case online, as defined in the Justice for All White Paper 2002. Instead, with Ministerial approval, an alternative solution was implemented. Following a successful pilot exercise, the "No Witness No Justice" initiative was set up to provide Witness Care Units across England and Wales staffed by trained intermediaries, who understand the needs of victims and witnesses and are more responsive to their individual requirements.
	To support these Witness Care Units a new witness care management tool, called the Witness Management System, has been created. This provides trained Witness Care Unit officers with access to existing case data stored on the Crown Prosecution Service Case Management System, as well as the ability to search the system by witnesses and to add/amend case details relating to victims and witnesses. These officers can, therefore, provide both victims and witnesses with key information, not only about the progress of their case but also about how the CJS works and what the next steps are likely to be.
	The Witness Management System in use in 100 out of the 170 Witness Care Units in England and Wales and is already playing a key role in providing first class care for victims and witnesses. The roll-out to all Witness Care Units will be completed during the spring of 2006.

British Library

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the British Library spent on purchasing (a) books, (b) stamps and (c) other items for collections in each of the last 10 years.

David Lammy: The British Library's expenditure on purchasing items for its collections over the last ten years was as follows:
	
		Expenditure(01) -- £ million
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 
		
		
			 Books 2.82 2.54 3.24 3.02 3.22 
			 Serials 7.66 5.98 7.85 7.93 8.71 
			 Stamps 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Other collection items 1.09 1.14 2.67 1.11 1.42 
			 Total 11.57 9.66 13.75 12.06 13.34 
		
	
	
		
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06(02) 
		
		
			 Books 3.21 3.03 3.01 3.01 
			 Serials 9.31 9.89 10.06 10.50 
			 Stamps 0 0 0 0 
			 Other collection items 1.76 2.29 2.72 2.49 
			 Total 14.28 15.22 15.80 16.00 
		
	
	(01) These figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
	(02) Forecast.
	Notes:
	1. Other collection items" include manuscripts, music scores, maps, newspapers, patents, sound recordings, theses and print and drawings.
	2. Figures include both revenue and capital expenditure on acquisitions. Acquisitions expenditure arising from donations for purchase of major items is excluded due to its distorting effect on the figures.
	3. In 1998–99 budgetary pressures meant the library had to undertake a large programme of journal cancellations and stop buying books that were regarded of low-use or lesser research significance.
	4. In 1999–2000 the library was able to allocate more resources to acquisitions due to increased funding.
	5. Expenditure on stamps was zero because the library acquires philatelic material by donation, bequest, transfer from other organisations or by loan.
	6. A breakdown of expenditure in 1996–97 has not been provided because the information is only held in paper records which, if retrieved, would be unlikely to give the details requested. The total acquisitions expenditure for 1996–97 (excepting donations, as explained in note 2) is £13.7 million.

Creative Partnerships Scheme

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what proportion of schools in England have received funding for arts education under her Department's Creative Partnership scheme in each year since the scheme began.

David Lammy: Creative Partnerships does not provide direct funding for arts education in schools. Creative Partnerships works with schools to provide children with the opportunity to explore their creativity, working with creative organisations and individuals. The proportion of schools that have benefited from Creative Partnerships up to 2004–05 is set out in the table:
	
		
			   Proportion of schools(03)(%) 
		
		
			 2002–03 1st Phase roll out—16 areas 1 
			 2003–04  2 
			 2004–05 2nd Phase roll out—9 further areas 3 
		
	
	(03) LEA maintained and non-maintained specialist schools.

Libraries

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the management and running of local libraries.

David Lammy: Framework for the Future, published by DCMS in February 2003, was the first ever national public library strategy document. It aimed to encourage public libraries geared to the needs of 21st century users.
	In September 2003, the Museums Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) published a three-year action plan intended to address some of the issues identified in the "Framework" document. MLA issues detailed guidance material on public library matters as and when it thinks it appropriate.

Libraries

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether her Department has issued best value targets to local authorities on the management of local libraries.

David Lammy: The Public Library Service Standards have been adopted as part of the suite of Best Value Performance Indicators. Authorities were asked to work towards a score of 18 or more points out of 20 to move into the "four" category.
	Previously issued BVPIs relate to the numbers of library visits; satisfaction with finding or reserving a particular item or piece of information and, general satisfaction with a library service as part of an authority's overall cultural and recreational activities. The aim of these BVPIs is to encourage year on year performance improvement.

Olympic Funding

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what public funds have been allocated to the British Olympic ski team in each of the last seven years.

Richard Caborn: Since 1999, the Government and national lottery distributors have allocated a total of £2,743,502 to the British ski team, which includes snowboarding.
	The funding has been allocated to individual athletes directly, and to Snowsport Scotland and Snowsport GB, the National Governing Bodies for skiing and snowboarding.
	The precise allocation of Exchequer and lottery funding for the British ski team, through UK Sport and SportScotland, is set out in the two tables.
	
		UK Sport -- £
		
			  Lottery Exchequer Total 
		
		
			 1999–2000 Nil 186,000 186,000 
			 2000–01 56,722 160,000 216,722 
			 2001–02 140,170 160,000 300,170 
			 2002–03 205,554 160,000 365,554 
			 2003–04 254,850 169,998 424,848 
			 2004–05 236,368 126,668 363,036 
			 2005–06 262,116 160,000 422,116 
		
	
	
		SportScotland -- £
		
			  Lottery Exchequer Total 
		
		
			 19992000 59,902 Nil 59,902 
			 2000–01 51,792 Nil 51,792 
			 2001–02 40,554 Nil 40,554 
			 2002–03 37,731 Nil 37,731 
			 2003–04(04) 52,000 Nil 52,000 
			 2004–05 108,447 Nil 108,447 
			 2005–06 114,630 Nil 114,630 
		
	
	(04) From 2003–04 onwards, the total figure includes funding for a national coaching post. The amount given for this post was £27,247 in 2003–04, £40,000 in 2004–05 and £56,000 in 2005–06.

Swimming

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action she is taking to support the provision of public swimming baths in (a) Swindon and (b) England.

Richard Caborn: Access to good quality sporting provision, including swimming pools, is an essential part of enabling people to lead healthier lives and to participate in sport. There are currently over 4,400 swimming facilities across England which are open to the public. Since 1997 Government and Lottery distributing bodies between them have invested over £3 billion in physical activity and sport, and in that time £249 million of Lottery investment has gone to swimming—the largest amount given to any sport. Sport England has a swimming strategy in place and is working with local authorities to help them implement it. I understand that Sport England are in discussion with Swindon Council about the needs assessment that the Council is undertaking which includes examining its swimming provision.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the authorities in (a) Iran and (b) Pakistan on reducing the flow of (i) drugs, (ii) arms and (iii) unauthorised people from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	We have an ongoing dialogue with Iran and Pakistan on such issues. Our ambassador in Kabul most recently discussed these issues during a visit to Islamabad in February 2006. In May 2005 Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials met representatives of the Afghan and Iranian Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Kabul for trilateral consultations on counter-narcotics co-operation and regional economic co-operation. The Afghanistan/Pakistan/US Tripartite Commission regularly addresses a range of common security issues. Over 3.5 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan since 2001, the huge majority from Iran and Pakistan.

Disability (Armed Forces)

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps the Government are taking to ensure the housing needs of former members of the armed forces who are disabled are met; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I have been asked to reply.
	Members of the armed forces who are disabled may apply for housing to any local authority, and may also seek accommodation from a Registered Social Landlord. Housing authorities are responsible for setting their own allocation policies and procedures. However, they must ensure that their allocation scheme is framed so as to give reasonable preference to certain categories of persons, including people who need to move on medical and welfare grounds. Legislation has recently been amended to make clear that "medical and welfare" includes grounds relating to a disability. In addition, some Registered Social Landlords specialise in housing people with disabilities; while others have been set up with the intention of housing ex-forces personnel.
	Local authorities also provide a wide range of support services to help disabled people maintain independent lives in their own homes providing care services, aids, equipment and adaptations. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister contributes to the funding of these services through the payment of Supporting People programme grant to local authorities, which may be spent by the local authority on a range of housing related support services, and under the Disabled Facilities Grant scheme.
	There is provision within the War Pensions Scheme to pay grants towards the cost of adapting the home of a severely disabled war pensioner where the need arises because of the pensioned disablement. This payment may be paid in addition to any local authority grant which might be made.
	Service Leavers receive comprehensive briefings on housing and financial matters before returning to civilian life, including, if appropriate, advice from the Joint Service Housing Advice Office. In addition, the Veterans Agency provides a single point of contact within the MoD for veterans and their dependants seeking help and advice on a range of issues including housing.

Arson

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many incidents of arson there were in (a) Peterborough and (b) Cambridgeshire in each year since January 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The following table shows the number of fires which were started deliberately and attended by Cambridgeshire fire and rescue service since 1997. Separate data are only available centrally for Peterborough for 2002 and 2003.
	
		
			  Number of deliberate fires 
			  Cambridgeshire(05) Peterborough(06) 
		
		
			 1997 890 — 
			 1998 940 — 
			 1999 1,188 — 
			 2000 1,293 — 
			 2001 1,199 — 
			 2002 1,406 657 
			 2003 1,387 588 
			 2004 1,109 — 
		
	
	Sources:
	(05) Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.
	Includes estimates for incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 and 2003.
	Includes Peterborough.
	(06) Neighbourhood Statistics derived from Fire and Rescue Service FDR1 returns to ODPM.
	Excludes periods of industrial action.

Council Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria he applies in considering the results of multiple ballots of the same tenants on a single large scale voluntary transfer of council housing; and how he intends to deal with those circumstances in Sefton in August and November.

Yvette Cooper: When a local authority applies for consent to transfer its housing stock it is for the authority to satisfy the Secretary of State on the range of criteria set out in section 16.2 of the "Housing Transfer Manual 2005"—a copy is available in the Library. The application for consent should be received by the office at least six weeks before the transfer is due to be completed.

Council Tax Benefit

Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the (a) incentives and (b) disincentives to save arising from the fixing since 1999 of the savings threshold for ineligibility for (i) council tax benefit at £16,000 and (ii) reductions of council tax benefit at £3,000.

James Plaskitt: I have been asked to reply.
	No such assessments have been made. The treatment of capital in council tax benefit is kept under review to ensure that it strikes a sensible balance between providing targeted support and not penalising those who have saved.
	The lower capital limit is £6,000 for pensioners, and will be raised to £6,000 for other people from April 2006. There is no upper capital limit in council tax benefit for people who receive the guarantee element of pension credit.

English Partnerships (Peterborough)

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much has been raised by English Partnerships through the sale of assets in Peterborough in each of the last eight years.

Yvette Cooper: English Partnerships has received the following amounts through the sale of assets in Peterborough since 1997:
	
		
			 Financial year Receipts (£million) 
		
		
			 1997–98 3.4 
			 1998–99 0.9 
			 1999–2000 2 
			 2000–01 10 
			 2001–02 2.2 
			 2002–03 3.7 
			 2003–04 3.9 
			 2004–05 10.3 
			 2005–06(07) 1.1 
			 Total 37.5 
		
	
	(07) Forecast.

Homelessness

Justine Greening: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what grant funding for homelessness was provided to each London borough in 2004–05; how much is being provided in 2005–06; how much is projected for 2006–07; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 9 February 2006
	Homelessness grants from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister supplement other sources of Government funding that help to tackle homelessness, including housing capital investment, Supporting People and Revenue Support Grant.
	In 2004–05 and 2005–06 a total of £71,658 million (revenue and capital) in homelessness grants was allocated to local authorities in London by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
	The table provides details of homelessness grant allocations made by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 2004–05 and 2005–06 to each local authority in London. Indicative allocations for 2006–07 are also included this table.
	Funding provided by the Directorate has supported action to successfully reduce rough sleeping by more than 70 per cent. since 1998, end the use of B and B hotels as long-term accommodation for families with children, and develop homelessness strategies and preventative approaches which have resulted in the first sustained fall in new cases of homelessness for nearly a decade.
	
		£
		
			 Local authority Allocation 2006–07 Allocation 2004–05 Indicative allocation 2005–06 
			 London region Revenue Capital Revenue Capital Revenue  Capital (indicative) 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham 28,000.00 — 28,000 — 60,000 50,000 — 
			 Barnet 165,000.00 — 210,000 — 160,000 — — 
			 Bexley 58,000.00 — 58,000 — 58,000 50,000 — 
			 Brent 783,000.00 — 740,000 2,865,000 740,000 50,000 — 
			 Bromley 100,000.00 — 100,000 — 100,000 — — 
			 Camden 1,800,000.00 — 1,650,000 3,172,000 1 ,600,000 50,000 7,320,000 
			 City of London 515,000.00 — 265,000 650,000 265,000 — — 
			 Croydon Council 600,000.00 — 575,000 — 500,000 — — 
			 Ealing 600,000.00 — 600,000 — 600,000 — — 
			 Enfield 250,000.00 — 300,000 — 250,000 50,000 — 
			 Greenwich 100,000 — 63,000 — 63,000 20,000 — 
			 Hackney 640,000 — 550,000 95,000 550,000 — — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,500,000 470,000 1,400,000 385,000 1,450,000 — 742,000 
			 Haringey 200,000 — 200,000 — 200,000 — — 
			 Harrow 283,000 — 290,000 — 190,000 — — 
			 Havering 27,000.00 — 27,000 — 60,000 50,000 — 
			 Hillingdon 80,000.00 — 80,000 — 80,000 50,000 — 
			 Hounslow 180,000.00 — 165,000 — 165,000 — — 
			 Islington 357,000.00 — 325,000 — 325,000 — 290,000 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 943,000.00 — 875,000 250,00 875,000 — 300,000 
			 Kingston upon Thames 90,000.00 — 90,000 — 90,000 50,000 — 
			 Lambeth 2,100,000.00 — 2,000,000 — 2,020,000 — 1,521,000 
			 Lewisham 100,000.00 474,000 100,000 4,000,000 100,000 20,000 — 
			 Merton 130,000.00 — 130,000 — 85,000 — — 
			 Newham 250,000.00 — 212,000 — 200,000 — — 
			 Redbridge 105,000.00 — 100,000 — 100,000 50,000 — 
			 Richmond 295,000.00 — 295,000 — 315,000 50,000 — 
			 Southwark 1,100,000.00 353,000 1,063,000 600,000 1,063,000 50,000 — 
			 Sutton 200,000 — 165,000 — 130,000 — — 
			 Tower Hamlets 800,000 — 810,000 1,090,000 800,000 — 140,000 
			 Waltham Forest 200,000 — 200,000 — 200,000 75,000 — 
			 Wandsworth 300,000 — 300,000 — 250,000 50,000 — 
			 Westminster 7,366,000 9,480,000 6,700,000 5,113,000 6,500,000 — — 
			 Total funding 22,245,000 10,777,000 20,666,000 17,970,000 20,144,000 715,000 10,313,000

Homelessness

Sally Keeble: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many homeless acceptances there have been in each local authority in the East Midlands region in each of the last four quarters.

Yvette Cooper: The following table presents information reported by each local authority in East Midlands for the past four quarters on the number of households under homelessness legislation which were accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and consequently owed a main homelessness duty.
	The duty owed by the local authority is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available. As an alternative to the provision of temporary accommodation some authorities arrange for households to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	
		Households accepted(08) as homeless by local authorities within the East Midlands Government Office Region
		
			 Local authority October to December 2004 January to March 2005 April to June 2005 July to September 2005 
		
		
			 Amber Valley 68 71 61 55 
			 Ashfield 23 22 25 16 
			 Bassetlaw 29 30 62 34 
			 Blaby 16 6 8 6 
			 Bolsover 26 31 (09)— (09)— 
			 Boston 21 17 26 19 
			 Broxtowe 17 21 35 16 
			 Charnwood 43 28 52 49 
			 Chesterfield (09)— (09)— (09)— (09)— 
			 Corby 12 10 4 15 
			 Daventry 14 22 20 19 
			 Derby 222 226 279 189 
			 Derbyshire Dales 18 31 31 18 
			 East Lindsey 50 58 48 17 
			 East Northamptonshire 16 22 17 24 
			 Erewash 45 53 74 44 
			 Gedling 43 31 19 3 
			 Harborough 13 10 11 4 
			 High Peak 37 49 62 63 
			 Hinckley and Bosworth 31 34 45 (09)— 
			 Kettering 25 29 27 31 
			 Leicester 218 182 151 57 
			 Lincoln 66 49 50 34 
			 Mansfield 75 80 115 91 
			 Melton 6 13 13 19 
			 Newark and Sherwood 47 78 77 37 
			 North East Derbyshire 10 31 34 21 
			 North Kesteven 26 23 18 26 
			 North West Leicestershire 52 48 30 80 
			 Northampton 135 131 126 115 
			 Nottingham City 458 319 313 329 
			 Oadby and Wigston 17 24 6 12 
			 Rushcliffe 18 20 29 31 
			 Rutland 1 7 10 15 
			 South Derbyshire 24 19 18 21 
			 South Holland 29 (09)— 36 12 
			 South Kesteven 66 85 67 67 
			 South Northamptonshire 12 21 14 19 
			 Wellingborough (09)— 60 61 54 
			 West Lindsey 20 27 36 8 
		
	
	(08) Households found to be eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category and, under 1996 Housing Act provisions, consequently owed a main homelessness duty.
	(09) Authority failed to provide a return for that particular quarter.
	Note:
	Data shown as reported.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly).

Homelessness

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria he is using for the allocation of the £88 million funding announced by the Minister for Housing in December 2005 for local authorities to reduce or prevent homelessness.

Yvette Cooper: The £88 million funding announced on 13 December 2005 has been allocated to local authorities over two years (2006–07 and 2007–08) to assist them in delivering their homelessness service and reflects the Government's continued commitment to tackle and prevent homelessness. As part of the allocation process every local authority was asked to complete a short survey about their homelessness service. In allocating the funding the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister took account of local homelessness pressures and evidence from the survey returns of local commitment to prevent homelessness and reduce the use of temporary accommodation in line with our homelessness strategy "Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives". A summary of the survey returns is included in "Survey of English Local Authorities About Homelessness. Policy Briefing 13" which is available on the ODPM website.
	Homelessness grants from ODPM are intended to supplement main sources of expenditure on homelessness (for example, local authority general fund expenditure and housing investment) to fund innovative services that tackle and prevent homelessness more effectively.

Homelessness

Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) homeless people and (b) people in temporary accommodation there are in (i) St. Albans and (ii) Hertfordshire; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Information about English local authorities' actions under homelessness legislation is collected quarterly and is in respect of households rather than people. The number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need during 2004–05 and April to September 2005–06, and the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by local authorities under homelessness legislation as at 31 March and 30 September 2005, is tabled as follows for St. Albans and Hertfordshire.
	After being accepted as homeless, a household will be placed in some form of accommodation. They may be placed in temporary accommodation, until a settled solution becomes available, or they may be given a settled solution straight away depending on the accommodation available to the local authority. As an alternative to temporary accommodation an authority may arrange for a household to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
	Information is also collected on the number of people who sleep rough, that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night. The table below also shows the number of persons sleeping rough on a single night of each year.
	
		Households accepted as homeless during the year, households in temporary accommodation at the end of the period, and numbers of rough sleepers
		
			  Local authority 
			  St. Albans Hertfordshire 
		
		
			 Households accepted(10) as homeless   
			 2004–05 141 1,578 
			 April to September 2005–06 76 752 
			
			 Households in temporary accommodation(11) as at:   
			 31 March 2005 105 1,518 
			 30 September 2005 92 1,465 
			
			 Rough sleepers(12) (number of persons)   
			 2004 0 5 
			 2005 0 0 
		
	
	(10) Households found to be eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in a priority need category and, under 1996 Housing Act provisions, consequently owed a main homelessness duty.
	(11) Households in accommodation either pending a decision on their homelessness application or awaiting allocation of a settled home following acceptance. Excludes those households designated as "homeless at home" that have remained in their existing accommodation and have the same rights to suitable alternative accommodation as those in accommodation arranged by the authority.
	(12) Number of persons sleeping rough, based on local authority mid-year counts or estimates.
	Source:
	ODPM P1E Homelessness returns (quarterly)

Homes for Islington

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much funding has been made available to Homes for Islington by his Department; what proportion of it is a loan; what the interest rate is on the loan; and what the repayment terms are.

Yvette Cooper: The London borough of Islington has been allocated funding totalling £24.9 million by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) for its Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), "Homes for Islington", for the financial years 2004–05 and 2005–06. Allocations for 2006–07 and 2007–08 will be made shortly. The borough also received a mainstream housing capital allowance from ODPM of £10.888 million in 2004–05 and £11.317 million in 2005–06.
	ODPM's financial support for local authorities for capital investment takes the form of supported borrowing approvals. These give permission for a local authority to borrow money to fund capital expenditure on its stock. Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Subsidy is paid to local authorities by ODPM to cover the interest payments that a local authority must make on this borrowing. The terms of the loans taken out by local authorities such as Islington are a matter for the individual local authorities.

Housing

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many council houses in each London borough have been brought up to the Decent Homes Standard; how many remain to be brought up to the Decent Homes Standard; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: The following table shows the reported number of local authority owned non-decent dwellings every year for each London borough since 2001.
	
		
			 Local authority 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Barking and Dagenham (14)— 13,254 12,613 11,091 9,618 
			 Barnet 5,467 4,208 4,881 6,047 6,903 
			 Bexley LSVT LSVT LSVT LSVT LSVT 
			 Brent 6,191 6,106 5,211 4,657 2,725 
			 Bromley LSVT LSVT LSVT LSVT LSVT 
			 Camden 20,800 18,800 16,327 19,534 18,839 
			 City of London (15)— 1,329 1,093 1,015 959 
			 Croydon 15,233 6,299 5,617 3,325 2,836 
			 Ealing 3,187 4,487 4,474 5,598 5,115 
			 Enfield 3,911 4,195 3,938 3,710 3,242 
			 Greenwich (14)— 22,744 21,919 17,693 15,708 
			 Hackney 26,649 20,080 19,198 17,301 14,899 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 5,383 4,773 4,189 3,548 5,089 
			 Haringey (14)— 5,690 10,493 9,389 8,487 
			 Harrow 1,603 2,838 2,710 2,887 2,698 
			 Havering (14)— 3,888 3,747 2,391 3,249 
			 Hillingdon 4,437 3,774 3,465 3,402 3,116 
			 Hounslow 10,500 10,499 9,243 5,258 2,508 
			 Islington (14)— 18,911 19,093 16,829 15,213 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 4,462 4,150 4,203 3,036 2,496 
			 Kingston upon Thames (14)— (14)— (14)— 1,423 1,318 
			 Lambeth (14)— 15,483 14,696 12,747 12,300 
			 Lewisham (14)— 19,730 17,436 16,259 14,742 
			 Merton (14)— 2,819 2,242 1,852 2,138 
			 Newham 11,720 11,000 10,565 9,812 10,068 
			 Redbridge 1,554 1,194 1,327 1,716 1,696 
			 Richmond upon Thames LSVT LSVT LSVT LSVT LSVT 
			 Southwark (14)— 24,982 22,245 19,481 17,427 
			 Sutton 4,014 3,912 3,471 3,506 5,832 
			 Tower Hamlets 22,791 20,660 18,628 18,218 14,984 
			 Waltham Forest (14)— 10,311 10,039 9,226 7,966 
			 Wandsworth 3,003 3,212 2,173 1,425 588 
			 Westminster (14)— 10,847 8,834 4,272 2,413 
		
	
	LSVT = Large Scale Voluntary Transfer
	(13) No data submitted by London borough.
	(14) No data.
	Source:
	Business Plan Statistical Appendices.

Housing

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the density rate target is for new housing projects in Shropshire.

Yvette Cooper: National policy set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: "Housing" (March 2000) is for local planning authorities to avoid developments which will make inefficient use of land (those less than 30 dwellings per hectare net) and to encourage housing developments which makes more efficient use of land (those between 30 and 50 dwellings per hectare net). Local planning authorities may also have regard to local housing density policies in their adopted development plans and emerging local development frameworks. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is currently consulting on draft Planning Policy Statement 3: "Planning for Housing" which proposes a new approach for local planning authorities to establish density policies in their areas, but with the presumption remaining that in developing density policies, the minimum density should be no less than 30 dwellings per hectare.

Housing

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of new homes in Shropshire he expects will be built on brownfield sites.

Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: "Housing" which the Government issued in March 2000 sets a target for 60 per cent. of additional housing to be provided nationally on previously developed land and through conversions of existing buildings by 2008. The regional spatial strategy for the West Midlands sets a target for Shropshire of 59 per cent. of all development to be provided on previously developed land and for this target to be reflected in new local development frameworks. Local planning authorities in Shropshire should determine housing applications having regard to this guidance, other relevant policies in their local development plans and any other material considerations.

Housing

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what recent research he has evaluated on the cost of maintaining council homes.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister keeps under review the need to spend on maintenance and management of the local authority stock. The most recent research was published in June 2003: "Estimation of the need to spend on maintenance and management in the local authority housing stock".

Local Government Wages

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average increase in local government employee wages was in each year since 1996–97; and what the cost of the local government wage bill was in each year since 1996–97.

Phil Woolas: Information on local government wages is not held centrally. However, the increase in the local government employee pay bill and the cost of the local government employee expenditure in each year as reported by local authorities, are shown in the following table for the years available:
	
		
			  Local government employee pay(16) , (17) Local government employee expenditure(17)(18) 
			  Cost (£ billion) % Increase Cost (£ billion) % Increase 
		
		
			 1996–97 — — 30.237 2.9 
			 1997–98 — — 31.167 3.1 
			 1998–99 25.904 — 32.395 4.4 
			 1999–2000 28.531 10.1 35.737 9.9 
			 2000–01 30.571 7.1 38.185 6.9 
			 2001–02 33.083 8.2 41.283 8.1 
			 2002–03 35.769 8.1 44.345 7.4 
			 2003–04 38.662 8.1 48.676 9.8 
			 2004–05 41.235 6.7 52.940 8.8 
		
	
	(16) This figure is for pay only, excluding National Insurance employer contributions, pensions, and employee related costs, but including overtime payments, bonuses, golden handshakes etc. It has only been collected on this basis since 1998–99. It is estimated from the Subjective Analysis Return (SAR), part of the Revenue Outturn (RO) suite of forms collected by ODPM from local authorities. The SAR is a sample survey and collects information from 121 authorities in England. The data have been grossed up to provide estimates for England as a whole.
	(17) Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in the method of reporting the information. In particular, the outturn data for 1996–97 to 2002–03 have been calculated on a non-FRS (Financial Reporting Standard) 17 basis while the outturn data for 2003–04 and 2004–05 have been calculated on an FRS 17 basis. Hence, figures for different years may not be directly comparable.
	(18) Total net current expenditure on employees as collected by the RO forms. This includes all direct and indirect employee expenses and contributions to employee-related provisions, including national insurance contributions, pensions and employee related expenses.
	Notes:
	All data are as published in Local Government Financial Statistics or in National Statistics Releases as available from http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/index.htm
	All figures are for England only.
	Local government pay can be further split by employee group for 1998–99 onwards:
	
		
			 Employee group  1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Teachers £ billion 10.122 11.491 12.384 13.616 14.904 15.522 15.912 
			  % change — 13.5 7.8 9.9 9.5 4.1 2.5 
			 Police £ billion 3.349 3.450 3.693 3.969 4.102 4.486 4.749 
			  % change — 3.0 7.0 7.5 3.4 9.4 5.9 
			 Firefighters £ billion 0.790 0.843 0.831 0.859 0.881 0.958 1.036 
			  % change — 6.7 -1.4 3.4 2.6 8.7 8.1 
			 Police Support Staff £ billion 0.875 0.906 0.949 0.945 1.169 1.331 1.547 
			  % change — 3.5 4.7 -0.4 23.7 13.9 16.2 
			 Other Local Government Staff (21) £ billion 10.768 11.841 12.713 13.694 14.713 16.365 17.990 
			  % change — 10.0 7.4 7.7 7.4 11.2 9.9 
			 Total pay (19) , (20) £ billion 25.904 28.531 30.571 33.083 35.769 38.662 41.235 
			  % change — 10.1 7.1 8.2 8.1 8.1 6.7 
		
	
	(19) This figure is for pay only, excluding National Insurance employer contributions, pensions, and employee related costs, but including overtime payments, bonuses, golden handshakes etc. It has only been collected on this basis since 1998–99. It is estimated from the Subjective Analysis Return (SAR), part of the Revenue Outturn (RO) suite of forms collected by ODPM from local authorities. The SAR is a sample survey and collects information from 121 authorities in England. The data have been grossed up to provide estimates for England as a whole.
	(20) Comparisons across years may not be valid due to changes in the method of reporting the information. In particular, the outturn data for 1996–97 to 2002–03 have been calculated on a non-FRS (Financial Reporting Standard) 17 basis while the outturn data for 2003–04 and 2004–05 have been calculated on an FRS 17 basis. Hence, figures for different years may not be directly comparable.
	(21) Other Local Government Staff' includes Chief Executives, Chief Financial Officers, fire support staff, all non-teachers working in Education as well as all other local government employees.
	Notes:
	All data are as published in Local Government Financial Statistics or in National Statistics Releases as available from http://www.local.odpm.gov.uk/finance/stats/index.htm
	All figures are for England only.

Overcrowding

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will estimate how many families in (a) England, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland are living in overcrowded conditions.

Yvette Cooper: There are two measures of overcrowding—the statutory definition and the bedroom standard.
	Based on the bedroom standard, the number of overcrowded households in England during the three-year period 2002–03 to 2004–05 is estimated to have been 510,000.
	Information on compliance with the statutory standard is not collected systematically but, in the autumn of 2001, an attempt was made to estimate the number of households living in conditions that breach these standards. Using data from the "Survey of English Housing" for the period 1997–98 to 1999–2000 and from the 1996 "English House Condition Survey" it was estimated that there were 25,000 households in England that were so overcrowded that the statutory standard was breached.
	Reliable estimates for the Tees Valley and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland are not available.

Pheasant Shooting

Roger Williams: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance his Department has issued on the planning status of pheasant rearing units.

Yvette Cooper: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has not issued any specific guidance on the planning status of pheasant rearing units. The planning guidance for agriculture, for England, is contained in Planning Policy Guidance Note 7: "Rural Areas".

Planning

Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many planning applications have been processed in (a) Leicester and (b) England in each year between 1997 and 2005; and how many were heard by committees of local planning authorities.

Yvette Cooper: Following are the figures for Leicester and England. The "Statistics of Planning Applications, October to December 2005" is due to be published on 31 March 2006 and will appear on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister web pages under "planning statistics".
	
		
			 Calendar year Decisions in Leicester Decisions not delegated to officers(22) Decisions in England Decisions not delegated to officers(22) 
		
		
			 1998 1,469 403 465,000 153,000 
			 1999 1,449 373 472,000 139,000 
			 2000 1,594 369 499,000 127,000 
			 2001 1,772 400 527,000 121,000 
			 2002 1,783 373 571,000 102,000 
			 2003 2,084 265 620,000 89,000 
			 2004 2,095 117 650,000 75,000 
		
	
	(22) Since April 1997 statistics have been collected on decisions delegated to officers without reference to councillors under a scheme of delegation. 'Undelegated' decisions therefore includes decisions taken by chairmen or sub-committees, as well as those by the entire planning committee

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance his Department has issued on the account which should be taken of special protection area status in assessing planning applications; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: In August 2005 the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) issued a joint Government circular: "Biodiversity and Geological Conservation—Statutory obligations and their impact within the planning system" (ODPM 06/2005, Defra 01/2005). The circular provides administrative guidance on the application of the law relating to planning and nature conservation as it applies in England. It covers the requirements of the EC Habitats Regulations 1994 in respect of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the EC Birds Directive .
	Planning Policy Statement 9: "Biodiversity and Geological Conservation" was published at the same time. It advises planning authorities that, in taking planning decisions affecting sites of international importance, such as SPAs, they should ensure that appropriate weight is given to their status.

Planning

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library of the House a copy of the national planning guidance relating to housing that was in force before the publication of Planning Policy Guidance 3 in 2000.

Yvette Cooper: A copy of the Planning Policy Guidance Note 3: "Housing" published in March 1992 has been made available in the Library of the House.

Polytunnels

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the Planning Inspectorate has issued on planning policy on polytunnels.

Yvette Cooper: The Government's national planning policies on development in the countryside and on agricultural development, which includes horticulture, are set out in Planning Policy Statement 7, Sustainable Development in Rural Areas, published August 2004. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (including the Planning Inspectorate) has not issued any planning guidance specifically on the use of polytunnels.
	The considerations in determining whether, in the first instance, horticultural polytunnels come within the scope of planning controls and, if so, whether they are permitted development under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, have not changed. Each case should be considered individually, in the light of the particular facts and circumstances pertaining.
	Where the decision-taker, the local planning authority in the first instance, decides in any particular case that the erection and use of polytunnels constitutes "development" and requires a specific planning permission, any planning application should be determined in accordance with relevant policies in an adopted development plan for the area, subject to any other material considerations.

Thames Gateway

Eric Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the public sector bodies involved in the Thames Gateway development.

Yvette Cooper: The key partners are identified in "Creating Sustainable Communities: Delivering the Thames Gateway" (page 52), which sets out the Government's vision for and commitment to the Gateway. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Communities and Local Government announced last November that the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will additionally be publishing a strategic framework to help shape and guide investments, decisions and actions by Government and our delivery partners across the Thames Gateway.

Bullying

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what research her Department has (a) evaluated and (b) commissioned in the last three years on bullying in schools.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not, in the last three years, evaluated any research on bullying in schools.
	The Department commissioned an external evaluation of our guidance to schools on tackling bullying, "Don't Suffer in Silence", by researchers at Goldsmith's College, University of London. The results, though based on a fairly low response rate from schools, show that the schools found that the pack met their expectations and helped in drawing up their anti-bullying policies.
	This evaluation included research into the perceived success of the anti bullying strategies and interventions recommended in the guidance. Schools generally reported a high level of satisfaction with the interventions they had used.
	The Department commissioned the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London, to review the research evidence relating to homophobia in schools and to talk to groups with an interest in this area. The Department published their work in its Research Report series in late 2004, number 594, entitled "Homophobia, Sexual Orientation and Schools: A Review and Implications for Action".

Early Years Education

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many three and four-year-olds in Doncaster North constituency have received (a) 12.5 hours a week, (b) 15 hours a week and (c) 20 hours a week of free early-years education in each year since 1997.

Beverley Hughes: Information is not collected in the form requested.
	All four-year-olds have been entitled to a free early education place since 1998 and from April 2004 this entitlement was extended to all three-year-olds. The free entitlement consists of a minimum of five two and a half hour sessions per week for 33 weeks of the year for six terms before statutory school age, which is the term following their fifth birthday. This will increase to 38 weeks from 1 April 2006 and to 15 hours a week by 2010. By that time, parents who wish to do so will also be able to access the free entitlement flexibly across a minimum of three days.
	Some local authorities may additionally offer subsidised child care places but this information is not collected centrally.
	Figures for January 2005 show that all four-year-old children receive some form of free entitlement. The figure for three-years-olds is 96 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents 535,100 three-year-olds and 568,300 four-year-olds.
	In January 2005 in Doncaster North constituency there were 800 free nursery places taken up by three-year-old children. The equivalent figure for four-year-olds was 940.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 43/2005 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (final)" in September, which is available on my Department's website at:
	http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000604/index.shtml

Further Education

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements are required for the vetting of staff in further education colleges, with particular reference to those in contact with pupils aged under 16.

Maria Eagle: We have made it clear in guidance that CRB checks are strongly recommended as part of the appointment process on anybody who will be working in a school or further education institution.
	Arrangements for the vetting of staff working in further education colleges are set out in the Department's guidance "Child Protection: Preventing Unsuitable People from Working with Children in the Education Service" (issued May 2002) which states that
	"Teachers, other staff and volunteers whose job regularly caring for, training, supervising or being in sole charge of children under 18 years of age should obtain an Enhanced Disclosure'.
	The guidance, 'Criminal Records Bureau: Managing the Demand for Disclosures' (issued December 2002), provides further advice about seeking disclosures.
	"Safeguarding children in education" (September 2004) emphasises the wider responsibilities on employers including adopting recruitment practices which involve scrutinising applicants, verifying any qualifications, obtaining references, checking previous job history as well as the mandatory check of List 99 and CRB check where appropriate.
	Recent changes announced by the Secretary of State mean that existing arrangements detailed in the above guidance will be strengthened through the introduction of new regulations which will make an on appointment CRB check compulsory for all new appointments of teachers and teaching support staff in a further education institution who have not worked in a further education institution or school in the last three months.

International Student Assessment Study

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of (a) the key outcomes from the most recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Programme for International Student Assessment study and (b) the implications of the study for education policy in England; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: Because of our low participation rates in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), it was the view of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), that the data for the United Kingdom from the 2003 study could not be reliably used. It would therefore be inappropriate to try to draw conclusions for education policy in England from the data.
	The Government believe that international comparisons studies, such as PISA, offer unique and valuable insights into how the outcomes of our education system compare with those of other countries. That is why the Department for Education and Skills is putting its efforts into meeting the targets for school and pupil participation rates for the next PISA study which will take place later this year.
	However, in assessing the outcomes of any such studies, we will keep in mind the conclusions of the Education and Skills Select Committee in its Fifth Report of Session 2004–05, published on 9 March 2005, that
	"the data supplied by international educational comparisons is both of interest and of use in the formulation of education policy. Nevertheless, individual studies always have their limitations and cannot alone form a sound basis on which to build the foundations of a publicly funded school system".

Postgraduate Courses

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to encourage children from families on low income to pursue postgraduate courses.

Bill Rammell: The Government are committed to encouraging people from all backgrounds to take up research careers, and this includes making the career choice a more attractive one and the career more secure. As part of this, we have provided funding for an increase of one-third in the minimum Research Council PhD stipend between 2003–04 and 2005–06.
	The available evidence suggests that, once people qualify with a first degree qualification, their background does not significantly affect their decision to enter postgraduate study. The 2005 report "Young Participation in Higher Education", by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), estimates that the degree of inequality between young postgraduate participation rates is similar to that of young undergraduate students suggesting that the effects of background are negligible at this stage.
	Our policies to widen participation at undergraduate level, including our reforms to student finance, and the Aimhigher programme which seeks to raise the attainment levels of young people and their aspirations to university, are therefore also likely to help to widen participation at postgraduate level.

Departmental Entertainment

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on entertainment by her Department in 2004–05; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (a) food, (b) alcohol, (c) staff and (d) accommodation.

Jim Knight: The figures include expenditure on official entertainment made in accordance with the principles set out in "Government Accounting" and can range from tea and biscuits to catering for major events at which the Department—at official or Ministerial level—discusses a range of issues from high-level policy issues to highly technical, legal and scientific issues. All such expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety.
	Defra recognises and endorses that the expenditure of taxpayers' money on official hospitality is a highly sensitive matter and the slightest hint of casualness can lead to disproportionate adverse public reaction.
	Offering hospitality should not be regarded as the normal way of conducting Departmental business nor should it be offered merely because it is pleasant to provide it; indeed it is desirable to avoid the impression that business cannot be conducted without hospitality or entertainment.
	On each occasion Defra officials are required to consider carefully what form and extent of hospitality should be offered and if it can be justified—by both the host and the authorising officer—bearing in mind the need for economy and the limited funds available.
	
		
			 Defra 2004–05 £ 
		
		
			 Food 132,818 
			 Alcohol 4,848 
			 Staff 65,453 
			 Accommodation 60,674 
			 Other 134,110 
			 Total 397,903 
		
	
	Included in the 'Other' category are transactions which, owing to the limitations of information within our accounting ledger, cannot be classified into the categories asked for.

Israel/Palestine

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of UN resolutions 194 and 242 on the rights of Palestinian refugees; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the rights of Palestinian refugees are both respected and incorporated in future peace negotiations.

Kim Howells: We believe that the roadmap is the best way forward to secure a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. In phase three of the roadmap, the parties are to reach a final and comprehensive permanent status agreement that "includes an agreed, just, fair and realistic solution to the refugee issue".

Venezuela

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's answer of 8 February 2006, Official Report, column 873, what "the rules of the international community" the Government considers to have been broken by the Government of Venezuela; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: I have nothing further to add to the answer my right. hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet (Colin Burgon) at Prime Minister's Questions on 8 February 2006, Official Report, column 873.

Western Africa

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will support an amendment in the Fisheries Council to the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement to exclude the territory of Western Sahara from the agreement.

Kim Howells: Article 2 of the fisheries agreement initialled on 28 July 2005 indicates that it applies "to the Moroccan fisheries zone under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Morocco". This delimitation of the geographical scope of the agreement is identical to the delimitation in the previous agreement, which expired in 1999.
	The Government will consider its position on the draft agreement as part of the approval process, and in order to do so is currently awaiting further information from the Commission.

"Our Health, Our Care, Our Say"

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason patient and public involvement was not mentioned in her Department's White Paper "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say".

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 13 February 2006
	The White Paper contains some very clear messages about how a stronger voice can be achieved by strengthening arrangements for patient and public involvement.
	Chapter seven sets out a series of principles which will underpin the strengthened voice for patients and the public in health and social care.

Avian Influenza

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the total number of human (a) fatalities and (b) infections resulting from H5N1 avian influenza to date, broken down by country.

Rosie Winterton: The number of confirmed cases and deaths from avian influenza (H5N1) is provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is shown in the table. This information is regularly updated and is available on the WHO website at:
	www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2006_01_25/en/index.html.
	
		Cumulative number of confirmed human cases of avian influenza A/(H5N1) reported to the World Health Organisation, 25 January 2006
		
			  Cambodia China Indonesia 
			 Date of onset Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths 
		
		
			 2003 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2004 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 2005 4 4 8 5 16 11 
			 2006 0 0 2 2 3 3 
			 Total 4 4 10 7 19 14 
		
	
	
		
			  Thailand Turkey Vietnam Total 
			 Date of onset Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths Cases Deaths 
		
		
			 2003 0 0 0 0 3 3 3 3 
			 2004 17 12 0 0 29 20 46 32 
			 2005 5 2 0 0 61 19 94 41 
			 2006 0 0 4 2 0 0 9 7 
			 Total 22 14 4 2 93 42 152 83 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Total number of cases includes number of deaths.
	2. HO reports only laboratory-confirmed cases.
	3. The WHO reports those cases confirmed in WHO collaborating laboratories.
	In Turkey, a total of 21 cases, including four deaths have been confirmed by the Turkish authorities, these include the four cases and two deaths in the table.

Bowel Cancer

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what projections her Department has made of the expected take up of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2006–07 and (c) 2007–08;
	(2)  for Health in how many sites she expects to introduce bowel cancer screening in April;
	(3)  what the estimated total cost of the roll-out of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme is to (a) her Department and (b) primary care trusts.

Rosie Winterton: NHS Cancer Screening Programmes are currently assessing strategic health authority bids for their local endoscopy units to become local screening centres.
	The Government have stated their commitment to a national bowel cancer screening programme. On 30 January 2006, the new Health White Paper, "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services" reaffirmed that the programme will be rolled out from April 2006. Departmental budgets for 2006–07 are currently being finalised, and announcements will be made in due course.

Bowel Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place (a) to inform people from (i) ethnic minorities, (ii) deprived areas and (iii) hard to reach groups about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and (b) to encourage them to participate.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 January 2006
	A bowel cancer communications group was set up in 2005 to discuss communications with the public when the bowel cancer screening programme begins. The voluntary sector, patient groups, researchers, NHS Cancer Screening Programmes and the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes press office are all represented on the group. The group is considering all aspects of communications, including reaching ethnic minorities, people from deprived areas and hard to reach groups.
	In addition, bowel cancer screening leaflets sent out with each invitation will be translated into a number of languages, as happens in breast and cervical screening now. Lessons are also being learned on how to reach these groups from the existing breast and cervical screening programmes, and from the bowel cancer screening pilot.

Bowel Cancer

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what central funding has been made available for the roll-out of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06, (c) 2006–07 and (d) 2007–08; and what ring-fenced funding has been made available to primary care trusts to assist with the roll-out.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Ian Gibson) today.

Bowel Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the national bowel cancer screening programme will be rolled out from April.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 2 February 2006
	The Government have stated their commitment to a national bowel cancer screening programme. On 30 January 2006, the new Health White Paper, "Our health, our care, our say: a new direction for community services" reaffirmed that the programme will be rolled out from April 2006. Departmental budgets for 2006–07 are currently being finalised, and announcements will be made in due course.

Child Eye Examinations

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to ensure that parents understand the importance of eye examinations for children.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 31 January 2006
	Personal child health records are provided to parents after the birth of their child. The record provides families with a means of recording visits, immunisation, concerns raised and action taken. The record covers the range of health and development milestones and although it cannot go into the detail of conditions the record does prompt inquiries about vision and promotes further discussion and specific eye checks where indicated.
	Free sight tests are available under the national health service for children under 16 and those aged 16 to 18 in full time education. Sight tests allow the opportunity to review all aspects of eye health, including investigations for signs of disease.
	Information about the extensive arrangements for providing help with NHS optical services and other health costs are publicised in leaflet HC11 "Are you entitled to help with health costs?".

Community Matrons

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures the Government are taking to enhance the skills and training of community matrons in Bedfordshire; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: An outline of the responsibilities of community matrons was provided in the document, "Supporting People with Long-Term Conditions—liberating the talents of nurses who care for people with long term conditions", which was published in February last year. Since then the Department has issued a competency framework to help employers and workforce planners develop education programmes, and community matrons themselves understand what additional knowledge and skills they need for the work. The Department will soon publish an education framework so that education providers can develop local programmes and commissioners specify contracts appropriately.
	In addition, this year the Department will be hosting a series of master-classes for community matrons, and the results will be published.
	The local health communities within the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic Health Authority area, are working towards implementing the competency framework issued by the Department.

Dentistry

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were registered with an NHS dentist in Essex in each of the last five years; and how many new registrations there were in each year.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 2 February 2006
	The information requested is shown in tables 1 and 2. General dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS).
	
		Table 1: Number of patients registered with a national health service dentist as at 30 September in each specified year.
		
			  Patients registered 
		
		
			 2001 811,966 
			 2002 803,307 
			 2003 800,476 
			 2004 779,539 
			 2005 768,789 
		
	
	
		Table 2: New registrations and registrations deleted in Essex strategic health authority (SHA) at each month end since January 2001
		
			  Registrations 
			 Month Added Deleted 
		
		
			 January 2001 47,475 51,549 
			 February 2001 57,477 54,332 
			 March 2001 45,671 49,261 
			 April 2001 50,905 60,422 
			 May 2001 44,281 34,860 
			 June 2001 47,278 48,408 
			 July 2001 46,853 43,991 
			 August 2001 41,354 54,830 
			 September 2001 66,458 57,690 
			 October 2001 54,134 64,392 
			 November 2001 56,007 42,808 
			 December 2001 44,101 45,458 
			 January 2002 40,004 37,860 
			 February 2002 38,601 42,644 
			 March 2002 35,700 35,988 
			 April 2002 34,665 32,815 
			 May 2002 54,496 53,763 
			 June 2002 41,147 44,926 
			 July 2002 39,128 35,726 
			 August 2002 41,684 54,905 
			 September 2002 64,930 56,516 
			
			 Break in series(27) — — 
			
			 October 2002 40,352 44,256 
			 November 2002 57,057 47,710 
			 December 2002 38,482 38,897 
			 January 2003 40,438 46,571 
			 February 2003 46,017 54,494 
			 March 2003 51,209 45,115 
			 April 2003 40,253 37,126 
			 May 2003 43,050 51,508 
			 June 2003 41,354 44,133 
			 July 2003 44,348 45,255 
			 August 2003 61,416 60,413 
			 September 2003 63,710 70,878 
			 October 2003 56,734 52,922 
			 November 2003 44,950 50,353 
			 December 2003 48,049 42,888 
			 January 2004 36,165 40,347 
			 February 2004 41,460 46,085 
			 March 2004 55,432 39,384 
			 April 2004 43,352 39,083 
			 May 2004 43,100 35,653 
			 June 2004 44,012 34,932 
			 July 2004 43,396 40,910 
			 August 2004 43,793 51,037 
			 September 2004 63,934 54,973 
			 October 2004 94,045 46,043 
			 November 2004 77,679 50,265 
			 December 2004 66,290 30,745 
			 January 2005 69,917 48,777 
			 February 2005 55,006 67,576 
			 March 2005 75,304 53,419 
			 April 2005 72,788 50,099 
			 May 2005 33,536 66,758 
			 June 2005 27,339 88,203 
			 July 2005 36,855 57,288 
			 August 2005 27,947 63,207 
			 September 2005 35,503 53,796 
			 October 2005 31,395 34,617 
			 November 2005 31,326 33,949 
			 December 2005 32,720 32,027 
		
	
	(27) Between January 2001 and September 2002 data are for GDS dentists only. From October 2002 onwards the data are for GDS and PDS dentists.
	Notes:
	1. Table 2 indicates monthly additions and deletions to registrations within Essex SHA. However it is not possible to say if they are new registrations.
	2. Some of the patients being added to the list will be patients regarded as old patients by dentists (or the patients) who are being re-registered after a gap of more than 15 months (GDS).
	3. A yearly breakdown for table 2 is not possible as this may include duplications in registrations added and registrations deleted. This data should only be used as a monthly snapshot.
	4. Most PDS schemes that have registrations have re-registration periods in excess of fifteen months, so the figures for PDS schemes are generally higher than they would have been for the same attendance pattern under GDS.
	Source: Dental Practice Board

Mental Health

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the requirement is for inspection of in-patient care facilities for people with mental illness in (a) the independent sector and (b) NHS establishments.

Rosie Winterton: The Healthcare Commission has a statutory duty to assess the management, provision and quality of healthcare provided by the national health service. NHS trusts with inpatient mental health facilities are reviewed annually, and are awarded annual performance ratings.
	The independent (private and voluntary) mental healthcare sector is also regulated by the Healthcare Commission, through registration, annual inspections and through the monitoring of complaints and information. The Healthcare Commission's duty to regulate and inspect independent healthcare is laid out in the "Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act" (2003), the "Care Standards Act" (2000), and the Department's "Private and Voluntary Healthcare (England) Regulations" 2001 and "National Minimum Standards" 2002.
	Detailed information about the Healthcare Commission's work on inspecting NHS and independent sector mental health inpatient facilities is available from the Healthcare Commission's website at www.healthcarecommission.org.uk.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2006, Official Report, column 732W, on NHS Finance, whether the NHS staff with a track record of helping challenged NHS trusts included in the turnaround teams will be remunerated by the organisation which has been awarded the contract to operate turnaround teams; whether she intends to award further contracts to turnaround teams in addition to the contract for the initial assessment referred to in her previous answer; and what total budget she has set aside for all such contracts is in (a) 2005–06 and (b) 2006–07.

Jane Kennedy: The turnaround teams were announced by the Secretary of State in a ministerial statement on 1 December 2000, Official Report, column 37WS. The teams will comprise of experts with a mix of commercial and national health service turnaround skills.
	If NHS staff are used to help turnaround, arrangements will be made with the NHS staff's employer.
	A contract for a national programme office to co-ordinate and manage the turnaround teams has been awarded to consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers.
	Turnaround financial support for the transition leaders across the country will be contracted through the Department.
	The value of all these contracts are to be treated as commercial in confidence.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what effect the ongoing reappraisal by her Department of the NHS Private Finance Initiative programme has had on her Department's support for the proposals for the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust as laid down in its outline business case.

Rosie Winterton: "The NHS in England: the operating framework for 2006/7" was published on 26 January. The trust, with its local health partners, will now need to revalidate the approval parameters for the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals Foundation National Health Service Trust private finance initiative scheme and confirm they take account of the current reforms to the national health service. They will be asked to respond to a range of questions from the Department concerning factors such as long-term affordability, assumptions on efficiency gains and income growth, liquidity, activity shift and reference cost. The conclusions will need to be ratified by the Department before the scheme can proceed to financial close.

Waiting Lists/Times

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the (a) average and (b) longest waiting time was for an out-patient appointment at each of the hospitals run by Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the last year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: The information is not available in the requested format. However, the table shows waiting times for a first out-patient appointment following general practitioner written referral request for the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust.
	
		Waiting times for first out-patient appointment following GP written referral request—Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust—tranche 2
		
			 Quarter Median wait (weeks) 
		
		
			 December 2004 8.5 
			 March 2005 8.2 
			 June 2005 7.6 
		
	
	
		Table 2. Expenditure by NHS trusts since 1997 -- £000
		
			 Organisation 2004–05 2003–04 2002–03 2001–02 2000–01 1999–2000 1998–99 1997–98 
		
		
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust 1,102 1,419 898 939 726 479 377 159 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust 401 304 878 995 328 660 503 512 
			 East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Suffolk Mental Health Partnership Trust 725 861 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	Note:
	Expenditure is for non-NHS employed staff including nursing, midwifery and health visiting.
	Source:
	Annual financial returns of NHS trusts and PCTs.

Alcohol Misuse

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to combat (a) binge drinking and (b) other forms of alcohol misuse.

Hazel Blears: The Government have recently introduced a number of measures to combat alcohol misuse, the Licensing Act 2003 is a central component of these measures. (a) Rights and responsibilities are central to the Government's plans to combat alcohol misuse.
	Flexible licensing hours as brought in by the Licensing Act 2003 counters binge drinking by not encouraging people to drink as much as possible before last orders, this is backed up by tough enforcement powers that target individuals through increased use of fixed penalty notices, premises through conditional licenses and expedited licensing reviews, and areas through designated public place orders (and drink banning orders which are proposed in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill). The Government are working with the drinks industry to develop a voluntary approach to tackling alcohol misuse.(b)  
	The Departments of Health, Education and Skills and Home Office are taking forward measures to combat alcohol misuse. Alcohol education is a key component of the national curriculum as part of the healthy schools initiative The alcohol misuse enforcement campaigns target alcohol misuse through increased enforcement of legislation test-purchasing operations. The Government are planning to launch sensible drinking messages later this year in partnership with the drinks industry.

Antisocial Behaviour

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of local authorities have an antisocial behaviour policy.

Hazel Blears: All of the 351 Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRP) in England and 22 Community Safety Partnerships (CSP) in Wales currently audit the levels of crime and disorder and misuse of drugs (substance misuse in Wales) in their area so as to identify the extent of these problems within their community, and develop strategies that deal effectively with the problems agreed as priorities for action following consultation within their communities.
	They must ensure the need to tackle antisocial behaviour is reflected in the way local services are delivered where it is identified as a priority for action. Local authorities as a "responsible authority" within the CDRP play a major part, working in partnership with the police, police and fire and rescue authorities and primary care trusts, in addressing and tackling antisocial behaviour.
	By 2007 all top tier local authorities in England will have a Local Area Agreement (LAA). LAAs are three year agreements struck between central and local government containing outcomes which address national and local priorities. The requirement for LAAs to contain an outcome on building respect and reducing antisocial behaviour is mandatory.
	This underlines the importance of respect and antisocial behaviour as key national priorities. Preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour has also been identified as a key theme in Round eight of the Beacon Council Scheme and this will act as a further incentive for councils to ensure antisocial behaviour is top of their agenda.

Community Support Officers

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police community support officers have been introduced in (a) Doncaster North, (b) the borough of Doncaster and (c) South Yorkshire since the scheme began; and what assessment he has made of the impact of community support officers on crime and antisocial behaviour;
	(2)  how many police officers there were in (a) Doncaster North, (b) the borough of Doncaster and (c) South Yorkshire in each year since 1997.

Hazel Blears: Figures relating to the number of police officers are collected by police force area and have been collected at basic command unit (BCU) level since March 2003. These figures are given in the table. Figures for Doncaster North are not collected centrally.
	In South Yorkshire there were 14 PCSOs as at 31 March 2003. This figure increased by 45, to give a total of 59 at 31 March 2004. As at 31 March 2005 this figure had increased again by 66, giving a total of 125 PCSOs. This figure remained the same for September 2005. Information on the number of PCSOs in basic command units has been collected since June 2005. The Doncaster basic command unit had 36 PCSOs on 30 June 2005. Deployment of PCSOs with in Doncaster is an operational matter for the Divisional Commander. "A National Evaluation of Community Support Officers" (Home Office Research Study 297) was published on 25 January.
	A copy of the report has been placed in the Library and shows that PCSOs have been well received by the public. They are helping to restore respect in local communities by providing reassurance and tackling antisocial behaviour and low level crime.
	
		Police officer strength in South Yorkshire and Doncaster, 1997–2005
		
			  South Yorkshire(31) Doncaster(32) 
		
		
			 1997 3,159 — 
			 1998 3,182 — 
			 1999 3,168 — 
			 2000 3,163 — 
			 2001 3,197 — 
			 2002 3,199 510 
			 2003 3,183 533 
			 2004 3,279 549 
			 2005 3,265 526 
		
	
	(31) The figures in this table are based on full-time equivalent figures less staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave, and have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
	(32) Police officer strength has only been collected at basic command unit level since 2003. The 2002 figure was provided by HMIC. Figures are based on full-time equivalent figures (including staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave) and have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

Complaints Audit Committee

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department has taken following the recommendations made in the latest Complaints Audit Committee report.

Tony McNulty: Since the publication of the Complaints Audit Committee's 2004–05 Annual Report in July 2005, IND has undertaken a significant amount of work to implement their recommendations across the Department.
	The 2004–05 Annual Report recommendations will form part of a wider "rolling register" of action points that the Committee has raised for IND to consider. Also included in the register will be recommendations arising from their quarterly audits of complaints across IND.
	IND's response to these recommendations will be published in our official reply to the CAC's annual report which is due for publication in October 2006.

Crime

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he plans to take to publicise action taken to tackle antisocial behaviour to members of the public in Swindon.

Hazel Blears: The Respect Action plan sets out our intention to empower local communities to challenge and tackle antisocial behaviour through greater awareness of the powers available to them. We will ensure effective dialogue between local people and services by introducing regular and systematic "face the people" briefing sessions, involving senior representation from the police and local authorities.
	In addition, the respect "Taking A Stand" awards and action days held nationwide will stimulate public debate about acceptable behaviour and inform antisocial behaviour practitioners and other specialists about local activities. The action plan also proposes a publicity campaign to counter disrespect such as physical violence, threats, intimidation, verbal abuse by the public towards public sector workers. Swindon is one of the Government's action areas, committed to tackling antisocial behaviour.
	The Swindon Evening Advertiser has promoted local initiatives run by the antisocial behaviour team, such as Operation Crackdown, Operation Graffiti and It's Your Call and has publicised details of antisocial behaviour orders. Swindon borough council and Wiltshire police use local neighbourhood safety teams to communicate activity taken to tackle antisocial behaviour and in parallel, invite local residents to highlight community safety concerns in their area.

Drugs Dependence Treatment

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners underwent treatment for drugs dependence in (a) Tamworth constituency, (b) Staffordshire and (c) England and Wales in each of the past five years.

Fiona Mactaggart: Figures for prisoners undergoing drug treatment are given in the following table. There are no recorded figures prior to 2001–02. Figures for programme completion were not collected prior to 2004–05.
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
			 Tamworth(36) 
		
		
			 CARATs 150 152 100 91 
			 Detox 0 0 0 0 
			 Programmes entrants 60 60 60 80 
			 completions — — — 70 
			  
			 Staffordshire(37) 
			 CARATs 595 689 557 490 
			 Detox 89 59 9 53 
			 Programmes entrants 116 154 187 276 
			 completions — — — 214 
			  
			 England and Wales 
			 CARATs 39,338 51,896 54,125 59,025 
			 Detox 41,765 50,701 57,891 53,903 
			 Programmes entrants 4,691 4,386 4,703 7,609 
			 completions — — — 4,902 
		
	
	(36) HMP Swinfen Hall.
	(37) HMP Swinfen Hall, HMP Drake Hall, HMP Featherstone, HMP Stafford HMP Dovegate.

Public Order

Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) Tyne and Wear, (d) the north east and (e) England and Wales in each year since their inception; and how many people have since broken the conditions of their order in each case.

Hazel Blears: Information on antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued at constituency level is not collected centrally. A table giving a breakdown by the local government authority area in which prohibitions are imposed within ASBOs is available on the crime reduction website at www.crimereduction.gov.uk. This table gives data by year since ASBOs were introduced up to 30 June 2005 (latest available). ASBO breach data held centrally only cover breach proceedings where there has been a conviction. These data, at criminal justice system area level only, are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003 for ASBOs issued since 1 June 2000. The available information is given in the table.
	
		The number of antisocial behaviour orders breached, as reported to the Home Office, by period and area, from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003(52)
		
			  Period 
			  June 2000 to December 2000 2001 2002 2003 June 2000 to December 2003 
		
		
			 Northumbria criminal justice system area — 1 10 13 15 
			 The north east region(53) 1 12 30 44 58 
			 England and Wales 14 118 118 240 609 793 
		
	
	(52) Breaches are counted in this table on a persons basis, i.e. where the order has been breached on more than one occasion within the same period, a person is counted once only within that period.
	(53) Comprising Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland criminal justice system areas.

Visas

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average time an entry clearance officer took to make a decision on a visa application in the last period for which figures are available.

Kim Howells: I have been asked to reply.
	UKvisas does not calculate the average time it takes an Entry Clearance Officer (ECO) to make a decision on an entry clearance application. However, three of UKvisas' public service agreement (PSA) Targets indicating the length of time a Visa Section should aim to resolve an application, were met in financial year 2004–05. They are as follows:
	90 per cent. of straightforward non-settlement visa applications to be processed and available for return to the applicant within 24 hours from the date of receipt by the Visa Section of the application and all supporting documents including the fee.
	90 per cent. of non-settlement applications requiring further inquiries or interview to be decided within 15 working days from the date of receipt by a Visa Section of the application and all supporting documents including the fee.
	90 per cent. of applicants for settlement visas to be interviewed within target times as follows:
	12 weeks, except in four busy settlement posts (New Delhi, Bombay, Dhaka and Islamabad), where the following maximum waiting times for a settlement interview should apply:
	Queue 1: (Right of Abode claims: dependent relatives over 65; special compassionate cases): 3 months maximum;
	Queue 2: (Spouses, children under 18): 3 months maximum;
	Queue 3: (Fiancé(e)s, other settlement categories): 6 months maximum;
	Queue 4: (settlement re-applicants): 9 months maximum.

Young Offenders

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people of school age (a) found guilty of a crime and (b) placed in custody had a previous history of being in care in (i) Uxbridge constituency, (ii) the London borough of Hillingdon, (iii) Greater London and (iv) England in each year since 1997.

Fiona Mactaggart: The available information is shown in the table.
	It is not possible from the statistics collected centrally to identify the Uxbridge constituency. The figures in the table relate to the petty sessional area of Hillingdon which sits at Uxbridge.
	In relation to children in custody who have a previous history of being in care, the Social Exclusion Report "Reducing re-offending by ex prisoners", annex D, says (page 157 D10), quoting an HMIP survey, that
	"over half of those under 18 in custody, have a history of being in care or social services involvement".
	
		Number of persons sentenced and convicted aged 10 to 16 for indictable offences in Hillingdon(54), London(55)and England, 1997 to 2004
		
			  Offenders 
			  England London Hillingdon 
		
		
			 1997
			 Guilty 27,256 3,522 65 
			 Immediate custody 2,832 475 10 
			 
			 1998
			 Guilty 29,703 3,881 96 
			 Immediate custody 2,804 426 5 
			 
			 1999
			 Guilty 30,600 4,116 90 
			 Immediate custody 2,863 407 4 
			 
			 2000
			 Guilty 30,100 4,119 114 
			 Immediate custody 3,070 472 15 
			 
			 2001
			 Guilty 31,439 4,675 115 
			 Immediate custody 3,368 490 5 
			 
			 2002
			 Guilty 30,295 4,625 123 
			 Immediate custody 3,320 560 2 
			 
			 2003
			 Guilty 28,702 4,200 103 
			 Immediate custody 2,657 414 10 
			 
			 2004
			 Guilty 30,038 4,360 118 
			 Immediate custody 2,653 440 6 
		
	
	(54) Comprises the Hillingdon petty sessional area with the Uxbridge magistrates court.
	(55) Comprises the City of London and Metropolitan police force areas.
	Source: RDS-NOMS 6/02/2006

Water Action Plan

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 2398W, on the water action plan, what percentage of budget support from his Department was spent by each African country in receipt of such support on access to safe water and sanitation in 2004–05.

Hilary Benn: We do not yet have figures for the percentage of public expenditure (including budgetary support) spent on improving access to safe water and basic sanitation for 2004–05. The process of collecting and reconciling national figures is lengthy, and the methodology for analysis is still experimental. We expect to be able to publish figures for 2004–05 by the third quarter of 2006. In the meantime, we believe that the figures in the DFID report entitled "Financial Support to the Water Sector 2002–04" (copies of which are in the Library of the House and also on the DFID website: www.dfid.gov.uk) may provide a useful indicator for 2004–05, since budget allocations typically do not change sharply from year to year.

Domestic Violence

Lynda Waltho: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps the Government are taking to give young people the relationship skills needed to prevent domestic violence.

Meg Munn: Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has recently developed guidance for teachers which includes units of work covering relationships and healthy friendships. This provides the scope for schools to explore domestic violence and is supported by the Department's publication "Does Sex Make A Difference" which includes domestic violence lesson plans.

Energy Review

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on energy policy.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government launched the Energy Review last November. As part of the Energy Review, in January the Government published a consultation document "Our Energy Challenge: securing clean, affordable energy for the long term". The consultation has a broad scope and considers all aspects of the energy system including energy supply and demand. The Review is looking at what further measures might be needed to tackle climate change, and to ensure secure and affordable energy supplies in the UK beyond 2010.

Fuel Efficiency

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what percentage change there has been in the fuel efficiency of cars sold in the UK in each year since 1997.

Stephen Ladyman: Figures relating to two methods of measuring fuel efficiency and the annual change in those figures, are set out in the following table. From 1997 until 2000, the percentage changes in new car fuel efficiency are based on data collected by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). From 2001, the calculations are based new car emissions data collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
	
		
			  Average miles per gallon (MPG) MPG percentage improvement Average carbon dioxide (CO 2  ) emissions (g/km) CO 2  percentage improvement Diesel car penetration 
		
		
			 1997 35.45 — 189.8 — 17 
			 1998 35.66 0.6 188.4 0.7 16 
			 1999 36.22 1.6 185.0 1.8 14 
			 2000 37.01 2.2 181.0 2.2 14 
			 2001 37.78 2.1 178.0 1.7 18 
			 2002 38.72 2.5 174.8 1.8 24 
			 2003 39.40 1.8 172.7 1.2 27 
			 2004 39.96 1.4 171.3 0.8 32 
			 2005 40.37 1.0 169.7 0.9 36 
		
	
	Diesel fuel contains more carbon per litre than petrol. Thus the increase in diesel car sales over the later periods leads to a diesel fuel contains more carbon per litre than petrol. Thus the increase in diesel car sales over the later periods leads to a greater rate of improvement in MPG (fuel efficiency) than in the more commonly reported measure of grammes per kilometre CO 2 .

Railways

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of railway fare income has been derived from (a) regulated and (b) unregulated fares for each year since 1994.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 8 February 2006
	The proportion of fares income from regulated and unregulated fares from 2002 is shown in the following table. Data covering 1994–2001 is not available and can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
	
		Fare type (percentage)
		
			  Regulated Unregulated 
		
		
			 2002 44 56 
			 2003 44 56 
			 2004 44 56 
			 2005 44 56 
		
	
	The proportion of rail fare income from different ticket types has been included in "National Rail Trends" (published by Office of Rail Regulation) since January 2002, as part of the rail fares index.

Tax Credits

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have received child and working tax credits awards of (a) less than £1,000, (b) £1,000 to £2,499, (c) £2,500 to £4,999, (d) £5,000 to £9,999 and (e) over £10,000, broken down by parliamentary constituency.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of in-work families with average level of entitlement above the family element and at the family element or below in 2003–04 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards 2003–04". Estimates of awards by entitlement by constituency, which are particularly subject to sampling uncertainty, have been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Tax Credits

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families in Denton and Reddish constituency receive the (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit.

Dawn Primarolo: Estimates for 2003–04 of the numbers of in-work families with tax credits awards by constituency, including information on overpayments and underpayments, based on final family circumstances and incomes for 2003–04 are published in "Child and Working Tax Credits. Finalised Awards 2003–04 Geographical Analysis." This publication and provisional estimates for the number of in-work families by constituency with tax credit awards as at selected dates in 2004–05 are available on the HMRC website at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-stats.htm.

Benefit Fraud

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of benefit fraud in (a) Leicester and (b) the UK in each year between 1997 and 2005.

James Plaskitt: The Department produces estimates for the amount overpaid through fraud across the benefits system. Previously published results are in the table.
	
		
			  Estimate of benefit fraud  Comment 
		
		
			 Pre-1998 No overall estimate available. A few isolated reviews of fraud and error in individual benefits were carried out, but there was no systematic attempt to estimate the level of fraud across the whole benefit system. 
			 1998 £2 billion to £7 billion Published in the Green Paper, "Beating Fraud is Everyone's Business". Around £2 billion was considered confirmed fraud, with the remaining £5 billion coming from cases where there was a suspicion of fraud. 
			 1998–99 to 2002–03 £2 billion per annum A change in methodology in the ongoing measurement system meant that cases were investigated in more detail, and it was no longer appropriate to include cases where fraud was suspected in the headline estimates. Figure rounded to nearest £1.0 billion. 
			 2003–04 initial estimate £1.5 billion Figure rounded to nearest £0.5 billion. 
			 2003–04 revised estimate £1.0 billion Figure rounded to nearest £0.1 billion. Development work to improve the quality of the estimate suggested that the original figure was an overstatement. 
			 2004–05 £0.9 billion Figure rounded to nearest £0.1 billion. 
		
	
	It is not possible to provide a breakdown for Leicester due to the sampling methodologies used to produce fraud and error estimates. The sample sizes for individual areas are too small to produce meaningful results.
	In recent years, benefit fraud has been reducing and now stands at £0.9 billion per year—less than one per cent of total benefit expenditure.
	On 13 October 2005, the Department published our achievements in reducing levels of fraud in the benefit system and plans to reduce it further in 'Reducing fraud in the benefit system: Achievements and ambitions'. Copies are available in the Library.

Housing Benefit

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish proposals for housing benefit reform in the social rented sector.

James Plaskitt: There are significant differences between the private rental market and social housing, and between the social housing sectors of the UK devolved administrations. Many complex factors will need to be taken into account before a decision is made on exactly how we take forward reform of housing benefit in this sector.
	This why we are consulting on the direction that any reforms would take in our green paper "A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work" published on 24 January. The consultation period will run until 21 April and a Government response will follow in due course.

Returning to Work

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with representatives of general practitioners regarding developing their role in supporting patients' return to work; whether these discussions have included proposals for general practitioners to monitor patients' suitability for incapacity benefit; and when he expects to publish the range of initiatives to provide the support to general practitioners necessary to assist patients in returning to work as described in paragraph 2.19 of the White Paper, "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say".

Margaret Hodge: The Department is working closely with representatives of General Practitioners in the development of initiatives designed to help GPs support patients with health conditions or disabilities so that they can remain in or return to work.
	Discussions have been held with the General Practitioner Committee of the British Medical Association (BMA) and with the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). Discussions have included the role of the GP in providing basic fitness for work advice for patients and in helping more patients manage health conditions so that they can remain in work.
	The White Paper referred to was published by the Secretary of State for Health and in this context the reference on page 29 to initiatives to support GPs was intentionally brief. Our proposed initiatives are set out in greater detail in our recently
	published Green Paper: A New Deal for Welfare: empowering people to work; at page 34 paragraph 43.